A Whole New World
by Theanimedude
Summary: The boy next door- or rather, next room over. He thinks he can just waltz into my house without MY consent? Well, he's got another thing comin'.


Theanimedude: I figure while I've got Origin of the Beast and Nick the Eraser still going, what the heck- why don't I bog myself down with a new series!

Fang: You're an idiot.

Theanimedude: A fanfiction of a fanfiction, that's what this is. Call it... reficcing. Here I go!

A Whole New School chapter 1

Name: Maximum Martinez

I'm so excited when I get home. Sam, one of the H-A-W-T hottest guys in my school, has been giving me "the look." The one that says he likes me! For the longest time I was sure that he was after Lissa Snake- I call her that because nobody knows her last name- but she's been flirting with Cato Striker for a little while, which means they broke up. Cato wasn't a bad looker either, but was just such a... ugh, you know?

Sam even TALKED to me! Can you believe my luck?

"Ella," I ask my eleven year-old sister as soon as I get home. "How do you think I'd look with red hair?"

"You'd look like you with red hair," she told me with a playful smile. Smart-aleck... Ella made a habit of trying to annoy me, but she made a great little sister. She had lack hair, In a sharp contrast to my blonde-dyed hair. She went to fifth grade in the elementary branch of my school, whereas I was in tenth grade.

"Oh, guess what Max?" she changes the subject so quickly, it's like we were never on it. "Mom did the coolest thing in the world today!"

"What'd she do?" My interest was piqued. My mom was nice and all, the greatest mom ever, but nothing she really did was cool. Period.

"Well- first I was like, "You should have asked us first!" and she was like "I couldn't, he was forced on me!" and I was like-"

"Slow down!" Who was forced on my mother? Oh man, she wasn't-

"Ella, what happened?!" I asked her, looking into her eyes intensely.

"Just come and look!" she told me, grinning and running out back. I follow her; wary and ready for anything I have to be. Mom's on the back porch, looking exhausted but happy. She's sitting in a wooden rocker, her head leaned back in a lethargic and restful way. Her hair is a slightly lighter shade of black to Ella, and, she's just an inch shorter than me. I grow fast.

"Sweetie, I have a surprise for you," she whispers. "I hope that you like it."

"What is it, mom?" I ask her. She couldn't have hidden a pregnancy this long, right?

"I've taken in a boy your age," she tells me. "His name is Nick."

... **What?!**

"What?!" I vocalize my confusion, looking at her with a totally mortified expression. "You're kidding me, right?!"

"No, I'm afraid I'm not," she responded evenly. "He was standing on our doorstep this morning after you two left for school. Would you like to meet him?"

"You just adopted a sixteen-year-old guy that happens to be standing on our doorstep?!" I was appalled. My mother is the most sympathetic, caring person in the world. She even chose a job dedicated to helping people- a doctor. She's a freaking saint. It's not a bad attitude for a person to have, but at the same time, in a world like this? Yeah, she was bound to make a stupid decision at some point.

"He's over there, sitting next to the pond," she told me, pointing a couple yards over in the direction of the pond we'd had dug up for Ella's fish. I looked, and there he was- the exact opposite of the kind of kid you'd expect to see.

_Hello, Planet Weirdo? We found your prince. _

Kind of cute, but REALLY different. He was sitting to the left of the pond from where I was standing, so I was looking at his right side. His ocean-blue eyes were focused down on the pond, half-closed. Like he'd never seen water before. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a red t-shirt- no shoes. Not really muscular, but not without muscles either.

But what kind of threw me was his hair. It wasn't only that it was like down to his waist long- it was white. Not really like old people white, just white. It was almost like it was ice reflecting the sun. His pale skin and thinness made him look almost ghostlike.

That wasn't the end of it, either. Looking at him, I got this... sad feeling. His eyes downcast, his shoulders slumped, his arms crossed over one knee while the other leg dangled his foot just above the water. Just being near him I felt... melancholy.

Then I flt anger coming up inside of me. How could I let a freakazoid like him bring my spirits down?! Who did he think he was?! I'd been having a great day until he'd shown up.

"Well?" my mom looked at me expectantly.

"He's going to be living here?" I asked in a hushed voice, hardly able to believe it.

"Just for a little while, until he goes back home," she responded. "He's very sheltered, so try not to scare him, okay?"

"How sheltered?" I asked her, putting air quotes on 'sheltered.'

"You're probably the first high school girl he'll ever see," she answered. "You'll have to talk to him sooner or later."

"I choose later," I told her, glaring as I turned and stormed back inside.

I couldn't believe mom would just let somebody into MY home without my permission! If you were going to put some random guy you found on your doorstep under the same roof as me, the least you could do is tell me first!

What if Sam saw him? What would I tell him?! 'Oh no, he's not my brother, he's just some stray guy that we picked up the other day.' Like I needed that!

_How could this get any worse?!_ I asked myself, falling onto my twin size bed and screaming into my pillow.

"Max!" my mom called up the stairs to me. "Nick's starting school with you tomorrow, so I need you to show him around!"

"What?! No way!" I shouted back, flying downstairs and stopping in front of mom, who was just at the bottom. "Why is he going to our school?! Why should I have to show him around?!"

"One, because it's illegal for him not to," she told me sternly, not breaking eye contact. "Two, because who else can he trust? He doesn't know anybody there."

"What if Sa-" I stopped mid-sentence, realizing my mistake.

"What if what?" she asked me, tilting her head downward with a clear 'no nonsense' expression.

"Well- okay," I muttered. "There's this guy I like, and-"

"Where'd you meet him?" she asked conversationally.

"Well- detention, but-"

"Oh, there's a good sign right off the bat," she smiled, clasping her hands together. "I'm sure he's just an angel."

"You haven't met him!" I defended him hastily, not thinking about my own words. "I mean- I might have a chance with him, but Nick would just ruin it!"

"Maybe I should meet him," she said thoughtfully. "Find out if he's a nice boy."

"Mom!"

"Oh, right, Nick," she came back to the subject at hand. "You're taking him. It's not like Ella can. You have homeroom together, so even if you don't like him, you won't have to put up with him for long."

I paled. Homeroom was the only class I shared with Sam!

"Mom, please, there are like, three other kids on the block that could show him around," I insisted. "I don't want him following me like a dog on a leash!"

She looked at me sharply, an expression she only used when we'd done something seriously wrong.

"Don't ever talk like that, you hear me?" I took a step back. Like, whoa.

"Now, you're going to get your butt in there and talk with him," she commanded forcefully. "Because whether you like it or not, he's staying for the next two months. And the sooner you get to know him, the better."

"Okay," I sighed. It didn't pay to have mom angry, and besides that, she was right. No amount of foot-stomping or shouting was going to get him out of the house early, so I might as well have enjoyed it, right?

"Good." She relaxed her shoulders and nodded my way before going past the stairwell to the kitchen. "I'll be fixing dinner, so you have plenty of time to socialize with the poor kid."

I sighed once more as I walked out back, where Ella and said 'poor kid' were talking. He was smiling and nodding at everything she said, though remaining strangely silent. Looking at him, the opposite of what had happened before happened- I got this warm feeling inside that just made me want to smile. I shook my head, trying to clear it, disgusted with myself.

_How can he change how I'm feeling just by looking at his face?_ I thought to myself as I walked over, avoiding his eyes entirely as they turned to see me coming.

"You haven't met Max yet, have you?" Ella asked him upon my arrival. He stared down at the ground, not raising his eyes to meet mine. That was actually pretty annoying coming from him.

"Hey," I snapped, looking directly at the top of his shining snow sleet of hair. "Aren't you going to say something?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to0 strangers," he said almost inaudible His voice chilled me to the bone. When he spoke, painful images from my past flashed through my mind.

My father disappearing.

My friends disappearing as I moved to a home that hadn't been burned to the ground.

My brother dying in the fire.

Me starting the fire.

"Max?" Ella was standing next to me, holding my arm as I nearly fell. "Are you alright?"

"It was a mistake," I whispered as I felt tears on my cheeks. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Ella asked me, her voice sounding alarmed. I never cried unless I was alone. This was history she was experiencing. And all in front of some white-haired boy I didn't even know.

Suddenly, warm, strong arms embraced me, closing in on me from behind. It was just like when my father had held me almost a decade ago.

"I'm Nick Tundra," he whispered in my ear, and to my horror, I realized that it was him that was holding me. "What's your name?"

"Maximum Martinez," I hiccupped as his head nestled just above my shoulder. Somehow, it felt so right.

"Well," his whisper was smooth, melodious and heartwarming. "I guess we aren't strangers anymore."

I had to laugh at that. Wouldn't you?


End file.
